


The Collectors

by Tando



Category: Original Work
Genre: Bi-Curiosity, Cat/Human Hybrids, College, Coming of Age, Creatures, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Mythology - Freeform, Pixies, Romance, Sexuality, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-19 03:36:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2373056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tando/pseuds/Tando
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chen has never felt like she's belonged anywhere. She can't make friends, even with those closest to her. But then, a long-lost cousin appears bearing strange news, she's a Collector, and there's a whole other world full of supernatural creatures, and she can turn into them, with the help of a special bracelet. With these new powers, can she finds friends, love, and acceptance?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Someone New

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally just suppose to be an exercise in supernatural romance writing, as it is a popular genre (particularly on this very site), but after several sessions of brainstorming and world-building, I decided this is an idea that needs expanding on...a lot of expanding. "The Collectors" is meant to be a sort of sleazy, but classy guilty pleasure. Sort of like a good cable TV show. Hope you enjoy.

   The crashing of the door swinging open can be heard as a passionate couple stumble in. A small framed girl, who’d been sitting at her desk reading when they came flying in slams her book down and marches over to the couple, who’d proceeded to the bed,

“Alright, both of you need to get out!” she declares, in the loudest voice she can muster.

The girl of the couple, peers out from behind her male partner, “Chen, don’t be jealous. Its just for the night. He’s not moving in or anything.”

“I don’t care.” Chen counters, “You two are gonna be up till two in the morning, and I’ll have to sit next to you trying to sleep.”

She rolls her eyes, “Well, if you wanted one too, all you had to do was ask.”

“That’s not the point. Now, out! And I don’t want to see you Emily until you’re  alone .”

Emily and her boy walk out as Chen slams the door and slides down against it to the floor, breathing a sigh of relief. She’d hate to admit it, but she is a little jealous of Emily. Before she can even get up, she can hear Emily talking to one of the other girls from across the hall,

“What the hell’s wrong with her?” the girl asks.

Emily chuckles, “I don’t know. She’s just super serious like that I guess.”

“Well, I’d suggest requesting a roommate change or something, cause nobody should have to deal with that witch.”

Chen gets up and away from the door before she can hear anymore. Already aware of her reputation as a prude, or a witch, or whatever they decide to call her that day, she’d resolved a long time ago to stop caring. Its just that sometimes, she does.

Emily opens the door sometime later that night, by this time, Chen had already changed into her pyjamas of sweatpants and t-shirt and was just getting ready to go to sleep.

“You’re going to sleep already?” Emily asks, walking into the small bathroom to wash off her makeup.

Chen lays down, her head resting on her arms, “Its eleven at night, I should be asleep by now, I got class in the morning.”

Emily takes a towel to wipe her face free of water, “Dude, nobody takes morning classes. You’re not an old lady yet, even if you act like one.”

“Guess I never got the memo.” she sighs, “Hey, I’m sorry for kicking you out.”

“Wha...now you’re sorry? You should’ve been sorry before he ditched me!” she counters angrily, throwing her brush on the bathroom floor.

She raises an eyebrow, “He ditched you?”

“Yes, he ditched me, you don’t need to broadcast it.”

“Its just...nobody ditches you, like ever.” 

“Well...he just...did okay? Some of his friends showed up, he went with them, but I didn’t want to go, so we just split up, that’s all.” she reasons, “Anyway, I’ll call him in the morning.”

Chen pauses first, before responding, “Wait...do you even know his name?”

“Aren’t you suppose to be sleeping?” she snaps, smiling.

   Chen’s alarm clock sounds, and she slams it onto snooze. The morning sun gleams through the window in her dorm. She looks over at Emily’s bed, and smiles when she sees that Emily’s completely unfazed by her loud alarm clock. She showers and gets dressed, brushing her short black hair that barely goes down to her chin. She collects her books from her desk and heads out, softly closing the door behind her.

She steps down the stairs and leaves the dormitory. The cool morning breeze whipped through her tanned skin as she walked along the stone path leading to the main academic building. The path is decorated with various trees and greenery. Being early autumn, most of the trees have started to lose their leaves, but being as this is also Southern California, most of the scenic environment will still be intact once winter rolls around.

Out of the corner of her eye, Chen swears she could see someone leaning against one of the trees, looking right at her. On him, she catches a glint of something silver, or at least shiny. She stops right in her tracks, nobody hangs out around here this early in the morning. Maybe he’s just out for a smoke or something. She starts walking again, but then she hears a voice, coming from right behind her,

“Are you...Chen Xiang?” its a male voice, definitely. 

Chen turns around to be faced by a tall, slender man a couple years older, “...who wants to know?”

“Hi, I’m Andy Xiang, I’m your cousin.” he awkwardly introduces, his glasses framing a narrow jawbone.

That’s impossible...Chen’s adopted, how would he know she’s his cousin?

That shiny thing that caught her eye turns out to be some kind of thin, intricate bracelet or chain that wraps down his entire left arm, with various charms hanging on the silver chain.

“Uhm...well, its nice to meet you.” she tells him, “But, I have to get to class, so...I’ll see you later, okay?”

“No, wait…!” but she’s already started running down the path, “Happy Birthday!” he calls out, even though she’s too far away to hear him.

Who is he? If he really is her cousin, how come he’s never shown himself before now? And on top of that, how does he know its her birthday? Nobody knows her birthday, or if they do, they don’t bother to acknowledge it. 

The entire day Chen’s thoughts are filled with these questions. While she feverishly takes notes in her classes, she’s also wondering if maybe, that guy was just trying to pull one on her. If he was, then he did a really good job of convincing her. But at the same time, he did kind of look like her. Same hair and general skin color aside, he had the same narrow jawbone, low cheekbones and smallish almond-shaped eyes. Or maybe that’s just because they’re both Asian.

Her second class of the day lets out, and she has about an hour and a half before her next class, so she walks down to the local subway shop for a sandwich. The Plaza Deli, which is about nine blocks away from the campus, is a small, quaint eatery, with ample seating. But mainly, Chen goes here because nobody else from school does.

“Hi Chen!” the young man behind the counter greets, “The usual turkey sub with pickles?”

“Yeah. Thanks Jeff.”

She waits by the counter as Jeff prepares her sandwich. Suddenly, the door creaks open, and a familiar man walks in,

“There you are Chen!”

She doesn’t turn around, because she can already see his reflection on the shop counter, “Hey...Andy, right?”

He nods, “Uhm...Chen? Since it is your birthday after all, and correct me if I’m wrong, it is your eighteenth birthday, right?”

Jeff looks up from the stainless steel table as he wraps the sandwich, “Its your birthday?”

She meekly nods, her lips twisted.

“Oh, cool, Happy Birthday. You know what that means?” he asks, “It means your sub’s on the house.” he smiles, tossing her the sandwich.

She leans back slightly, ready to catch, but just as she feels the wrapper in her clutches, a hand whips through and snatches it. She turns her head to see that Andy’s stolen her lunch. He tosses it in the air for a moment,

“How about we discuss this over lunch?” he requests, swiveling around to the door.

Guess there’s no way in avoiding him now, “Fine.” she turns back, “See you Jeff!”

Jeff however has his arms perched on the counter, giving her and Andy the strangest look, not bothering to respond.

She shrugs it off, if someone stole a sandwich straight out of their hands, she figured she’d be weirded out too. But that wasn’t a look of confusion, but rather one of suspicion.

“Hey, that was a dick move back there, now give me back my sandwich!” Chen demands, trying to grab back her small lunch while its still warm.

Having at least half a foot advantage over her, and his arms being long and lanky, he is easily able to keep it away from her, “Not until you listen to what you have to say.”

She crosses her arms, “First of all, if you’re my cousin, how come I’ve never met you before and how did you find me?”

“Look.” Andy begins, “There’s a lot to explain, like you have no idea. But to keep it short, your parents gave you up because they had to. They couldn’t leave you with me because I was seven years old and already on my own.”

Speechless, Chen places her hand on her lips, “Oh...I’m so sorry. I, I had no idea. But...why visit on my eighteenth birthday, of all days?”

“That...will be revealed at a later time.” he looks around warily, “Look, you see this?” he holds up his right arm, the silver chain attached to his arm jangling with him.

“Yeah...that’s a weird piece of jewelry you got there.” she admits.

He nods, “It is eye catching, yes. But I wouldn’t call it a piece of jewelry. When the moon comes out tonight, you’ll have one of your own.”

“So...you’re going to give me one of those bracelets to me for my birthday?” she asks, bewildered.

“...not quite. You see, we’re something called Collectors.”

She chuckles, “We’re what?”

“Look, I’ll give you my number, and tonight, when you receive your brace, just give me a call, okay?” he tells her, tossing her sandwich back at her.

She catches it, thankfully completely intact, but by now, her mind isn’t anywhere near lunch. She looks down at the sub, and on the wrapper is a hastily scratched number. Quickly adding the number to her contacts, she turns around to see that Andy’s completely vanished. Now, a normal person would totally write him off as a psycho and get a restraining order, but something about the seriousness in his tone, his uncanny similarity in appearance, and the strange allure of his silver accessory, something made her believe him, even if only for an instant. Would it turn out to be true?


	2. Something New

After her last class of the day, Chen returns to her dorm to find it empty. She was almost expecting to find Emily with another partner, but not even she can work that fast. The dorm room had been essentially split in half. Chen’s half is hardly decorated at all, just a desk, a bed, and a makeshift bedside table comprised of a stack of library books. Emily’s side however, is covered front to back with memorabilia and various trinkets. There’s her bright magenta light hanging over her bed, showering her side with a warm glow.

Chen takes out one of her books, jumps on her bed, and begins reading. She’d always been an avid reader, especially in the manga and young adult sections, which were conveniently next to each other at her local library. She flips through one of her manga books, wishing she could read Japanese so that she wouldn’t have to wait for the English version to come out, or have to look up a haphazard translation online. She sets the book down, and opens up her bookbag to start studying. That’s basically her life, jumping from school, to studying, and when she has some free time, reading mostly. She looks out the wide dorm window to watch the sunset. She admires the beauty of the view as the sun falls over the campus buildings. She also realizes how lucky she is that she got a dorm on this side of the building, so that she gets a clear view of the sunset in the afternoon, and the room stays fairly cool in the morning.

She lifts up her textbook when she catches a glimpse of her wrist. On her left wrist, is a thin silver chain. It wraps around her small wrist perfectly, just loose enough to look natural, when most bracelets are usually made too large for her thin arms and hands. She’d never seen this bracelet before, and she hadn’t put on any jewelry this morning. It looked very similar to the gaudy body piece Andy had been wearing, although its much simpler, without all of those oval-shaped charms he has, maybe he slipped this on her when she wasn’t looking? No, that couldn’t be, she would’ve noticed when she’d gotten home. So it must’ve just...appeared on her wrist. On examining it more closely, she realizes that the silver chain is actually much more intricately detailed than she’d thought. Very small details have been carved into the silver loops of the chain, creating small pictures, although the pictures are far too small for Chen to make out clearly. 

She pulls out her phone, thanking herself for saving Andy’s number,

“Hello?” Andy’s raspy voice answers.

“Hey, Andy, its me, Chen. Your cousin?”

“Has it happened yet?” he jumps, an excitement in his tone.

“Uhm...I don’t know what you mean by it, but something weird has definitely happened.”

He pauses, “Oh...I’m sorry. I forgot you’re not aware, what I mean is, are you suddenly in possession of a silver chain?”

“Yeah, its a bracelet, and it looks kind of like yours.” she responds, turning on her desk lamp and holding it up to the light.

“Well, have you tried taking it off?” he asks.

She stops, confused, “Uh...not really, why do you ask?”

“Just try it.”

She grabs the bracelet with her hand, thinking that this command is ridiculous, she slowly pulls it up her wrist and...it doesn’t budge. Its stuck on her wrist! She then tries pulling it off more forcefully, but to no avail.

“Alright, I see why you asked. It won’t come off, at all.” she replies into her cell.

“Good, I’ll be right over.”

“Wait, but you don’t know my dorm number-”

Suddenly, the door flies open and Andy is standing in the entry.

“Wha...how did...are you stalking me?” she accuses, getting up from her desk to confront him.

He firmly grasps his hand on her shoulder, keeping her at a distance, “No, I’m here to explain everything.”

She plops herself onto her bed, “Fine, please, explain.”

He arches an eyebrow, looking away slightly, “Really?” he smiles, “Well, that was easy.”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugs, and sits on the bed with her, “I don’t know, I just kind of expected you to kick, scream and freak out a little bit. Make my job harder.”

She grimaces, “Why would I do that?”

“You meet girls like I have, you come to expect that kind of thing.”

Not quite sure how to respond to that, Chen opts to change the subject, “So...what is it you want to explain?”

He takes a deep breath, “Where do I even begin? I guess I begin with us. We’re called Collectors. We ‘collect’ various forms in charms that attach to our chains, that’s what your bracelet is called, a chain. You get your chain on your eighteenth birthday, when day turns to night. Its a weird tradition, I know, but it to do with the fact that the night is the source of power for many...uhm...well…”

“C’mon, cough it up.” Chen snaps impatiently.

“Its just, I don’t know what to call them. They have many names, mostly depending on the region. Here, they’re called Supernaturals. But I’ve also heard Immortals, Mythical Beings, Superhumans, the list goes on. Some of the examples include-”

He’s suddenly interrupted by Emily and a new boy entering. Letting go of her partner, she approaches Chen,

“Hey Chen, I know you got mad at me last night for bringing in someone so ‘late’, so, I brought this guy in extra early. The school library is still open, so you can go there, okay?” she suddenly notices that Chen is not alone, “Oh...hello.” she pushes the guy she brought in away, proceeding to climb on Andy’s lap, “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend Chen, he’s way too pretty for you.”

“Hey man, I’m out of here.” her escort declares awkwardly, but Emily seems too preoccupied to notice him leave.

She runs her hands over his shoulders when she crosses his chain, “Oh...you’re a Collector, aren’t you?”

Unlike most guys Emily encounters, Andy is completely unfazed by her gyrating hips and bosom so close to his face, “Yes, and I’m assuming you’re a Supernatural as well?”

She smiles, and something happens. It occurs in her eyes first, going from a hazel green to a bright yellow, and in a matter of seconds, her hair extends, and grows on her face, arms and legs. Her hair and skin also change into varying shades of pink and magenta. Her fingernails lengthen to become claws, and her canines expand into small fangs. Her overall appearance is cat-like, complete with small ears poking out of her full, bright pink hair and a long tail that sways back and forth.

Chen backs away, her eyes widening at Emily’s sudden transformation.

Andy, still completely calm, looks over her changed form, “...a Lynx I presume?”

She nods, giggling, “Now, what’s a Supernatural as rare as you doing in a place like this?”

“I’m here for my cousin, Chen. She’s just initiated.” he gestures to her.

She turns her head to look over at Chen, who’s still sitting on her bed next to Andy, completely in shock.

“She didn’t grow up in the Supernatural world, did she?” she asks him.

He shakes his head, “That’s why I’m here.”

Emily dismounts Andy, “Poor baby.” she reverts back to her human form, leaving no trace that she was just an anthropomorphic cat, “Hey, its just me, Emily. I’m right here, and I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I just...never knew you could...do that. Or that...that was possible.” Chen murmurs, her heavy breathing subsiding.

“Hey, its cool, just takes deep breaths.” Emily assures her.

Chen does so, and she returns to normal, “Thanks.”

“Now, I’m going to change into my Lynx form, and you’re not going to freak out, alright?”

Chen nods, and Emily changes, right in front of her eyes. The change only takes a couple of seconds, but she can hardly recognize Emily afterwards.

“Yeah...I’m cool with it.” Chen realizes.

“Good, cause I’m gonna take off my clothes.” she declares, before beginning to remove her shirt.

“Hey, hey, hey! I’m not that cool with it.” Chen skreeks.

Andy puts his hand on Chen’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, Lynxes don’t have anatomy.”

“Well, I’ve got my ass, but that’s about it, and clothes makes my fur itchy.” Emily adds, throwing her shirt onto her bed and slipping out of her jean shorts.

“Lynxes are actually a great place to start your education on Supernaturals.” Andy comments, “Lynxes, as you can see, are basically half human, half cat. While they have claws and fangs to defend themselves, their main ability is to attract and arouse humans and most Supernaturals. They themselves also have a heightened sex drive.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t work on you Collectors, now does it?”

Andy shakes his head, “You’re very attractive miss, but no. Collectors don’t have a lot of powers, but we have a lot of resistances. Most natural pheromones don’t work on us, but we are affected by things like love potions and spells.”

“God, there’s witchcraft too?” Chen exclaims, “My head’s starting to hurt.”

Andy and Emily exchange a knowing glance, before Andy speaks, “I think that’s enough for one day. How about tomorrow when you get off of school, you can come to my place and I’ll explain everything.”

“Oh, and you should also come to the Supernatural meetings they have every week on campus! The next one is in a couple of days.” Emily joins in.

“Thanks for the help guys, but I have a feeling I have a long way to go, don’t I?” she figures.

Emily nods, “Oh, you know it. You know, my mom always said that in the Creature world, that’s what they call it in my hometown, that everything exists, and that there’s no such thing as legend.”

“Everything exists, and there’s no such thing as myth.” Chen repeats, chuckling, “Makes just as much sense as a real-life furry.”

“Hey, I am not a furry! Those are the Were-people! ...or it could also be the Tykes...or the Werehounds, but those guys are so scary-”

“My head is killing me now! I’d kind of like some time to myself to process everything you guys have just dumped on me, thank you very much!”

The room goes silent for a moment, but then Andy nods, “Alright, you call me if you need anything.”

He exits, quietly closing the door behind him. Emily reverts back to human form, and begins shuffling through her various drawers.

Chen lies down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She’s so overloaded with information right now, and yet still has so many questions. Emily, returning from her search, leans over Chen, hiding something behind her back.

“What’s up?” Chen asks tiredly.

“I got something for you.” she tells her, “C’mon up.”

Chen sits herself up, and Emily bounces onto her bed, “So, from what I’ve read about Supernaturals, because I’ll be honest, you two are the first Collectors I’ve met. But, according to the Records, and I’m sure Andy will tell you about that later, Collectors get their charms from objects that represent that particular form. The object not only has to represent a form but also have sentimental value from the original owner.”

“Okay, but if that’s true, I don’t think I’m going to be getting any charms anytime soon. I don’t have any friends, much less Supernatural friends.”

Emily pauses, and for once, her expression reveals surprise, and possibly, weakness, “Well...I mean, aren’t I you friend? And...and, what about Andy? He’s your cousin, right?”

Chen pauses, is Emily her friend? They don’t exactly have a lot in common, and most of their conversations are sarcastic and involve arguing over whatever subject crosses them that day. But then again, how can she be considered any kind of expert?

“Yeah...I guess we are friends. And I just met Andy, so even though he is my cousin, I can’t say I know him very well.” Chen admits.

“Well, anyway, I’m here to give you this.” she opens her palm to reveal a fluffy little rabbit’s foot on a beady chain, “Lynxes’ carry around a lucky rabbit’s foot for, well, good luck. I want you to have mine.”

Emily passes the foot over to Chen, and the moment its in her hand, it lifts in the air slightly, before evaporating into a small flash of light. A small, oval-shaped charm then appears on her chain, the same cream color as the rabbit’s foot.

“Cool…” Chen and Emily muse simultaneously.


	3. Someplace New

   “Go on, try it.”

Chen lets her first charm dangle precariously off of her chain, “...just like you said, right?”

Andy nods, “Yeah.”

She grasps the charm in her hand, and with a slight tug, snaps it off of the chain. The charm rises, hovering in her hand for a few seconds before she’s encompassed in a bright flash of light. Upon the light fading, Chen holds her hands up, and sees that she is now sporting a set of perfectly filed claws. The hair lining her body is a silvery white, with black highlights for contrast.

“Wow...girl, you are one sexy Lynx.” Emily stares, practically drooling.

She stands up, her new tail waving behind her, “...you were right, my clothes itch.”

“Well then, take them off. You’re among friends here.” Emily assures her, also changing into her Lynx form and instantly beginning to strip off her tank top.

Its the next day, Chen had come back from classes to already find Andy and Emily in the room waiting for her. Other than the bracelet, nothing seems very different, she’d just gone to class like any other day.

She carefully removes her t-shirt, careful not to tear it with her new claws. She feels her fur puff out a bit as she frees it from its fabric constraint, “That is much better…”

After removing the majority of her clothes, Chen saunters over to the bathroom mirror, noting how her transformation has changed the way she walks into a raunchy, hip-swaying motion. Her first reaction is to be self-conscious about this, and to stop right away, but something is telling her not to, that this is perfectly natural.

She looks in the mirror, she looks very similar to Emily, cat ears, tail, even little whiskers. Her body shape is also very different. Much curvier with enlarged hands and feet, almost like paws. She also feels different, higher body temperature mostly, but also a strange feeling in her gut, as well as somewhere else…

Emily walks in, and places a hand on her shoulder, “You feeling it yet?”

“...huh?”

She chuckles, sliding her hand from one shoulder to the other and replacing it with her other hand, “Remember? Lynxes have an  enhanced sex drive, and when you transform, you get everything.”

So that’s what she’s feeling, but right now, she’s also feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

“I think I’ve had enough of my Lynx form for now.” she informs her, leaning outwards towards the bathroom door, “Hey Andy, how do you change back?”

“You have to do it on your own. Its something you have to will.” he tells her, “I’ve never seen a Collector struggle with it, just give it a try.”

Chen presses her paw-like hands onto the tiled bathroom sink counter, presses her eyes shut and focuses as best as she can, willing herself to turn back…

“Well...that certainly worked.” Emily comments snarkily.

She smiles, and opens her eyes, to find she’s completely naked, “Shit!”

“Hang on, I’ll get your clothes.” Emily offers, running out of the bathroom.

In the meantime, Chen grabs a towel off of a nearby hook.

“Ugh, Chen, your choice of underwear is unacceptable, someone needs a trip to Victoria’s Secret.” she remarks.

“Would you please just give me back my clothes?!” she cries.

Emily tosses her the clothes in a small bundle. After a minute or so of shuffling, Chen walks out of the bathroom fully clothed. Her eyes wander over to Andy, who’s spinning around idly in her desk chair,

“...you just saw all that...didn’t you?”

He stops the chair from spinning, “Yep.”

Chen pulls down her shirt, “Pervert.”

Emily, still in her Lynx form, jogs up to Andy and jumps up on his lap once again, “I think it’s adorable.”

Andy gets a goofy smile on his face while Chen sighs,

“You really do just throw yourself at everyone you me-”

“Yes.” she interrupts, brushing his black hair to the side.

She crosses her arms, “Well, Andy, you said you would tell me more about the Supernatural world. Can we maybe do that somewhere where you won’t be as...distracted?”

He peeks out from behind Emily’s waist, “Oh, okay.” he gets up, letting Emily slide to the floor, her giving him a longing, puppy dog look that Andy ignores completely.

“I’ll take you to my domain.” he tells Chen, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small stone.

“Great, more jewelry?” she asks sarcastically, “Collectors must look really tacky having to carry all this stuff around.”

He chuckles, “Domains are pretty common.” he throws the stone in front of him and it instantly flashes and opens up into a portal showing a blurry image of a grey room bordered in a white light, “Ladies first.”

Chen steps in, her foot finding the floor as if she’s only taking another step into her dorm room. She puts her head through, and sees the grey room come into full form. It appears to be a very well-lit dungeon. The walls and floors are made completely of grey cobblestone, and small windows near the ceiling let in plenty of light. The room is covered with cluttered wooden tables and shelves, with books, bottles, herbs and everything imaginable lying messily about.

Andy steps in after her, and Chen looks back just as he closes the portal, leaving the stone to drop to the ground. He picks it up, brushes it off and puts it back in his pocket,

“Well, here we are.”

Chen takes a couple of steps into his domain, “And where are we exactly?”

“My domain.”

“I got that part.” she tells him, “I mean, where are we in space and time? Is this some sort of pocket dimension? Or did you just transport us to somewhere else?”

He scratches his head, “Hmm...well, we certainly aren’t anywhere on Earth. I guess you can call it a pocket dimension, but time is still passing outside of the domain. See?” he points to a clock on a nearby wall.

Chen moves on to examine all of the objects scattered about the tables, “I’m gonna assume you don’t want me touching anything?”

“Not until you know what you’re doing, no, no I don’t.”

Andy goes over to his bookshelf and pulls out a medium sized hardcover book that immediately catches her eye. Its brown leather cover is decorated with silver details similar to their bracelets, and a purple gemstone in the center. He sets it down on the only open space on one of his tables,

“This is the Codex, it has every known Supernatural documented in it, and only Supernaturals can open it. That gem on the front acts as a lock so, go ahead, open it.”

Chen instinctively places her finger on the purple gemstone, and it flares to life, the book flying open. The pages are all blank, but as the pages flip endlessly, thin streams of yellow light start trickling out of the book and into the air, creating both words and images.

“Collector.” Andy orders the book.

The words and images shift and disfigure, before coming back together into a complete paragraph of words, along with an image of a shirtless man with his arms outstretched to show the long chain and various charms lining both of his arms.

Collectors: a rare race of shapeshifters who collect artifacts of other Supernatural species in order to turn into them. They also naturally attract other supernaturals, while repelling normal humans. They keep all of their forms on a silver bracelet, which expands as they collect more. While most Collectors aim to collect as many forms as possible, there are certain forms that are socially unacceptable to collect, as turning into these forms have severe repercussions. While in a form, Collectors have the appearance, benefits, and repercussions of their form. In all forms, they still have a sense of freewill and control. However, their forms are meant to be temporary, and only last several hours if not switched off voluntarily. Another weakness is that if they’re bracelet is removed, they will die, but it can only be removed by melting it off, which takes so long that usually the Collector is already dead by then.

“...well, that’s comforting.” she comments, “I repel normal humans? Certainly explains my social life.”

“It’s for the best.” Andy coldly comforts her, “Collectors especially have nothing to gain from being around normal humans.”

“But...are we even human to begin with? You refer to them as normal humans, what does that make us?”

He pauses, “...I don’t know. What I know is that we’re all alive, just like humans. Even Vampires and Ghouls are alive...to some extent.”

Chen looks back at the Codex, “...Vampire.”

The Codex disperses its light again, but this time, instead of giving one article, it gives several different options:

Vampire, Vampyre, Werepire, Vamp, Ghoul, Bloodsucker, Succubus…

“What’s with all these different types of Vampires? What’s the difference?” she asks, scrolling through the options.

“Mostly in abilities and strength. Larger groups of Supernaturals like Vampires have different varieties. But the stronger the variant of Supernatural, the more weaknesses.”

She takes a breath, “Alright.” he looks over at her in confusion, “What? I’m just going with it at this point.”

He nods, “Probably for the best.”


	4. Someplace New

   Andy leads Chen into the portal, and back into her dorm, where Emily is sitting on her bed, thankfully dressed, watching YouTube. She turns around as they step out and Andy closes the portal,

“Wow, how long were you two in there?” she asks, looking at her clock.

“I showed Chen the Codex. She was quite intrigued with it.”

Chen shrugs, “What can I say? Once I get researching, I just kind of get into the zone, especially if it’s something interesting.”

“Nerd.” Emily rolls her eyes, “Anyway, it’s already night time, the Supernatural meeting starts in half an hour.”

“Oh yeah...that thing.” Chen remembers.

“It’ll be good for you to meet other Supernaturals. You’ll gain a wide variety of charms faster that way.”

“ And you’ll actually, you know, make some friends?” Emily adds, “Although, to tell you the truth, I’ve never been there either, so they might be, you know, crazy.”

“What? I thought you’d been before.” Andy confronts.

“Yeah, I mean, I got the invitation at the beginning of the year, but I didn’t have a reason to go. I prefer humans to be honest, easier for us Lynxes to manipulate.” she pouts, “I still know where it is though. C’mon, it’ll be a first time thing for the both of us, please?”

Andy crosses his arms, “I don’t know if I want Chen to go now…”

“Oh my gosh, you sound like a protective father! That is so cute!” Emily shouts out in joy, running up to him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

Chen takes a heavy sigh, “You know what? Maybe I should go.”

Emily turns to her and a bright smile appears on her already vibrant face, “Yes!” she jumps off of Andy and races for the door, “Ahem...ladies first.”

Andy places a hand on Chen’s shoulder, “I really don’t like this.”

Chen twists her lip, unsure of how to vocalize her words, “Look...you’ve only known me for a couple of days, so I’m sure it’s hard for you to understand but to put it simply: I don’t have a life. I never go out, meet people, take risks. Basically my whole life has revolved around school until now. But now, I have an opportunity to do all those things.” she smirks, “And also, you’re not my father. I can take care of myself.”

“I still don’t like this.” he grunts.

“Hey, if anything does go wrong, I’ll call you, okay?” she reassures him.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, c’mon, we’re going to be late!” Emily grabs Chen’s arm and begins pulling her out the door.

   Chen follows Emily out of the dormitory and through the courtyard. They cross the street close to the campus where she begins going off the path to a small enclave of trees. She begins weaving her way through these trees, and Chen follows suit, but she soon realizes that this grove is a lot larger than she'd thought. It thickens the further in they go, until its almost as if they're trouncing through a forest.

"What is this place?" Chen asks, as she begins to hear the sounds of various birds and crickets.

"Its an enchantment, a permanently placed portal. But only Supernaturals can enter."

The trees part to reveal a small campsite in the middle of a forest clearing. The clearing is surrounded by woodlands that seem to stretch on forever. At the campfire, three other people are huddled around, sitting on wooden log benches, laughing and joking. There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual or strange about them, but maybe they’re just not in their Supernatural forms. When they spot Chen and Emily approaching, they all fall silent.

"You two must be the new members, welcome." its Jeff, the guy from Plaza Deli.

How did they know they were coming?

"Jeff, what're you doing here?" Chen asks.

He shakes his head, "Here, I an not known as 'Jeff', I am Vlad."

"Here, we all have Supernatural names." the girl of the group explains, "For example, since I'm a Pixie, they call me Glitter."

"And I'm Bigby." the final guy introduces.

"And what would that make you?" Emily asks.

He pauses, "Its...a reference to something, never mind. Anyways, I'm a Wolfman. What about you guys?"

"I'm a Lynx, and my friend here is a Collector."

The group leans forward in interest.

"A Collector? That must mean you just got your powers." Jeff realizes.

"She grew up outside of the Supernatural world, so she's still got a lot of learning to do."

Glitter gasps, "Oh my gosh, I can't imagine what that's like. ...what is that like?"

"Its just...well, it’s kind of boring to be honest. At least for me." she explains, "I certainly don't know how I'm going to explain this to my-"

"No." Emily suddenly interrupts her, "You can't tell any of your non-Supernatural friends or family. Not ever."

Chen laughs, "I'm sorry, have we met? I don't have any friends, I never have...until...until now I guess."

Bigby places a hand on her shoulder, "It’s alright, you're right, you're among friends now. We've all experienced shut out from the human world."

Glitter scoffs, "Well, I never wanted to associate with them in the first place."

   The group continues chatting with each other for what seems like hours. Jeff, Emily and Glitter all section off to talk about celebrity gossip, while Chen and Bigby, who don't appear to be experts on the subject, are left to themselves.

"So...you read Fables?" Chen asks, but suddenly draws back, uncomfortable about the idea that she'd just started a conversation.

He chuckles, "No, I got it from The Wolf Among Us, but close enough."

"Oh..."

The awkward silence between them hangs in the air as they both search for something to say,

"So, where do you live around?" he asks.

"I live in the student dorms across the street from Drake Stadium. You?"

"Oh, I'm close by." he exclaims, "But I don't live in a student dorm. I live with my parents in Bel Air."

Chen raises an eyebrow, "Really? You don't exactly look like one of those Bel Air guys."

"I know, I'm not exactly a Fresh Prince."

They both give a friendly laugh, and the others notice how quickly they've become at ease with each other.

"Hey, I know what we should do for Emily and Chen's first day. We should take them to a ritual. After all Vlad hasn't fed in a while." Glitter suggests.

"A...a...what?" Chen stutters, because while she knows what she heard, she's not sure what it means.


	5. Newfound Freedom

       The group makes their way to the sorority house where a party is in full swing. Big Latin letters hang from the top of the southern-styled house, and the inside is lit with bright flashing strobe lights. The group darts out from the bushes, all of them splitting up to surround the house. Crouched in the darkness, Glitter runs around handing everyone small pouches. Chen opens her pouch and sees that it’s filled with a white powder,

“What am I suppose to do with this?”

“Spread it around the house so it forms a circle around it.” Bigby explains, as he and Jeff start sprinkling the powder in a curved line.

Chen follows suit, slowly emptying her pouch as Glitter takes out the herbs and starts scattering them inside the circle we’re creating. She finishes off her preparations by placing candles on each corner of the circle, “Everybody ready?”

The group collects at various spots around the circle. Chen hangs back just to watch, she’s already more involved than she’d like to admit.

Facing the circle, the others stretch out their arms and close their eyes as Glitter recites,

“Powers of those cast out, we call you.”

A slight breeze picks up from the normally dry, windless air. The gusts seem to be contained to their location, as it flutters Chen’s hair but doesn’t affect any of the nearby trees.

“We ask that you lend your power.” she continues.

The flames on the candles flicker and spark, and a small trail of smoke begins rising from the herbs. Are they on fire?

“With these offerings, we ask for your assistance. Hear our plea!”

The herbs seem to melt into the ground, as if they’re being absorbed by the earth itself. I heavy mist rises from the dirt in its place, to the point where Chen can’t see a thing. With her hands, she tries waving the mist away, but it seems to swirl uncontrollably around the circle they’ve created.

Finally, the mist clears, and the wind dies down as well. Everyone is still in their previous spots, although their hair and clothes are a little disheveled from the wind.

“Wha...what was that?” Chen asks in amazement.

Emily leaves the circle, smiling as she places her hand on Chen’s shoulder, “That my friend, was a ritual.”

The group confidently strides into the house, where nothing seems to have significantly changed. But Chen feels something is different about the atmosphere the minute she steps pass the circle encompassing the circle. Things appear to slow down just a little, and colors become sharper and brighter.

She watches as her group immediately takes over the party. Glitter and Emily seem especially aggressive, grabbing the first boys they see and pulling them into a passionate kiss. Vlad is a little more selective, carefully scouting out the crowd before choosing a guy who Chen swears is in her English class. Their partners instantly comply with the Supernaturals, stopping whatever they were doing in that moment to engage in sexual activity. Chen makes a beeline for an empty corner stairway to huddle on, while still having a fair view of the spectacle that’s unfolding in front of her.

She watches in equal amounts of horror and astonishment as the rest of the party seems to fall into the same erotic rhythm as the Supernaturals, hooking up with the Supernaturals and each other. None of them seem to notice Chen, luckily, she wouldn’t know how to respond if they did.

“Not in the mood?” it’s Bigby, leaning against the wall, as Chen realizes he hasn’t been participating in any of the recreation as well.

She nods, “I mean...parties have never really been my scene to begin with.”

“Then what is your scene?” he asks, sitting on the stairway beside her.

She pauses, “...you’ll probably find it weird, or boring, or both.”

He raises an eyebrow, “Hey, I’ll be honest, the only reason I hang out with these guys is because they’re Supernaturals too, they understand that part of me. But I don’t have anything else in common with them. My idea of a good time, is to play video games, and read comic books, as cliche as that sounds.”

“I...I like to go to the library and read through their manga section, or you know, use their computers. I never had a computer at home.” she confesses.

“You like manga? Same!” he chuckles, “Wait...shonen or shoujo?”

She shrugs, “I don’t discriminate.”

He smiles, “I like that.”

Emily walks over to them, clothless in her Lynx from with a shirtless boy nibbling at her shoulder, “C’mon you two, join in. Don’t let a good ritual go to waste.”

While Chen could certainly feel the seductive mood of the party, it isn’t enough to push her out of her comfort zone, “No thanks, I’m good.”

Just then, police lights and sirens blare from behind nearby houses and trees, as the cars begin pulling up to the house. The group looks up as a total of two cars arrive, with at least two officers per car.

“Who the hell called the police?!” Glitter asks, throwing her partner off of her disconcertedly.

“Who cares, let’s go!” Vlad declares, running for the back door.

Emily, Vlad, Glitter, and Bigby all start running at an inhuman pace, leaving behind a trail of light where they just were a few seconds ago. Chen runs after them, and while several paces behind, she sees that their appearances have changed somewhat. Emily is in her Lynx form, Vlad is slightly paler, Bigby now has more hair on his head and arms, and Glitter...where is Glitter? All she can see in the place of Glitter is a small green spec floating in the air. She did say she’s a Pixie, is this one of her powers?

Chen struggles to catch up with them as she hears the officers with flashlights hot on their tail.

“Hey you, come back here!” one of them cries.

She sees Emily slow down considerably to reach her, “Change into your Lynx form!”

Chen grabs at her bracelet and her fingers find the small gemstone. Yanking it off of her chain, she instantly feels herself change as a bright light encompassses her while she’s still running. Now in her Lynx form, she instantly feels herself picking up the pace, zipping past Emily and catching up with the rest of the group.

“Nice!” Emily laughs, returning to her normal pace and meeting up with the group.

“Back to the Grove?” Glitter asks, referring to the enchantment where Chen and Emily had met them.

The rest of the group nods in agreement, and they speed off, leaving their pursuers in the dust. **  
**


End file.
